Did you know that you probably have been badgered or hounded by someone, and you most likely have seen someone pig out or horse around? In English, there are a number of animal names that can be used as verbs. When an animal name is used as a verb, it often describes an action, behavior, or characteristic that people associate with that animal. These expressions can make your English colorful and fun, but their meanings are not always easy to understand. Below are a handful of these with their definitions and example sentences.
To bug someone: to annoy or bother someone.
“My little brother is bugging me. He keeps asking me the same question.”
To badger someone: to bother or repeatedly ask someone to do something.
“My sister badgered me until I let her play my video game.”
To hound someone: to keep following, bothering or pressuring someone.
“The reporters hounded the actor with questions.”
To chicken out: to become too afraid to do something.
“I wanted to ride the roller coaster, but I chickened out at the last minute.”
To clam up: to suddenly become quiet and refuse to talk.
“When the teacher asked who broke the window, Tom clammed up.”
To outfox someone: to outsmart or trick someone.
“The detective outfoxed the criminal and solved the mystery.”
To rat on someone: to tell someone in authority about another person’s wrongdoing.
“He ratted on his friend for cheating on the test.”
To weasel out: to avoid doing something or escaping from a responsibility, often with an excuse.
“He tried to weasel out of cleaning his room.”
To horse around: to play, joke, or behave in a silly way when you should be serious.
“The boys were horsing around instead of studying.”
To pig out: to eat a very large amount of food, usually without concern for manners or health.
“We pigged out on pizza at the party.”
To wolf down: to eat something very quickly.
“I wolfed down my breakfast because I was late for school.”
To squirrel away: to save or hide something for future use.
“She was squirreling away some money for her vacation.”
